Blood and Alcohol
by StandingOnTheRooftops
Summary: Short drabble. Angst ridden and Spirit POV.  A certain scent can bring back memories... both good and bad. Just a small slice of how life might have been like, before the divorce. Dedicated to Silent Epiphany. SpiritxKami, hints at Spirit   Stein


AN: Very short story dedicated to Silent Epiphany for all the love and support she's shown me over the years. This is fairly angsty, so be warned. And fans of Kami should not read any further!

...

Blood and Alcohol

...

"Shit!"

She rarely cursed for no reason, so the crashing I heard must have been the catalyst for this particular outburst. She didn't sound in trouble, and her soul- distant though it felt these days- wasn't in distress, so I didn't rush as I made my way down the hall. Yes, my feet were faster than if I were walking... but so what? I wasn't running.

The moment I opened the door, I saw the problem.

She stood there, pale hair perfect, glaring and cursing bitterly under her breath at the mess around her. She stood barefooted amidst what must have once been the over-the-sink medicine cabinet. Shining shards of glass glittered around the floor, strewn with odds and ends. In a sudden wave, the smell of alcohol hit me. It's acrid scent burned into my lungs like so much acid, the taste vile on my tongue, in my nose.

And, oddly, it was comforting. The acerbic scent was familiar, the flavor of it something I knew... bittersweet, because it was something I missed. Funny how something could bring back good memories and bad.

I could recall long nights spent watching him work on other things, just watching in wonder as he identified things I couldn't even tell apart. I could also recall waking on other nights, knowing that a new scar would be somewhere on me- knowing that I'd been one of the experiments that I enjoyed watching so much.

Without thinking, I stepped into the bathroom and wrapped my hands around her slim little waist. She was so small, so delicate looking. But her hard, cold eyes betrayed the strength that resided within her. She was not fragile- she was not weak. I lifted her up as easily as a feather and carried her out of the room. There were already a few small spots on her feet where I could see small drops of blood welling up.

Blood, just another reminder. The same as the rubbing alcohol. Caustic, but comforting in that strange way. Cold green eyes softened for just a moment. For a split second I saw the woman I'd fallen in love with- the woman who'd fallen in love with a joke like me.

And then it was gone. As quickly as smoke on a windy day, it vanished, replaced once again by that calculated indifference, by the cold, vitriolic stranger who'd taken her place over the years. I know... my love for her would always stay the same... but I knew, I knew she wouldn't stay the same. She wouldn't stay, period.

"I could have got out of there myself," she snapped acrimoniously. "I don't need you baby-ing me! I'm not decrepit. Besides, it's your fault anyway. I asked you a month ago to fix the braces on the cabinet!"

In the close distance, down the hall, a little voice could be heard.

"MAMA! I can't find my socks!"

Emerald eyes glanced down the hall, then back at me.

"Go find her some socks," I said, smiling though I wanted to scream. It wouldn't do any good to tell her I'd already fixed the braces twice in the past month, and that I'd asked her to pick up a new one since she was the one who usually did all the shopping for the house. Arguing with her was less than pointless. I had become the enemy, and it seemed I'd remain that way. "I'll clean this up."

She didn't say 'thank you', not that I had expected her too. She didn't even nod in acknowledgment. She simply turned on her heel and left, not even flinching though I knew there was probably still glass in her feet. She didn't want me to baby her, despite it being my first instinct.

There was but one tie that bound tus anymore. One thing that kept her from leaving. And that one thing was down the hall... without her socks.

With a sigh, I turned back to the bathroom to clean the mess.

And once more, simply let the astringent scent of alcohol and blood wash through my senses and burn away all thought.


End file.
